Tuesday Afternoon Diversion: Prisencolinensinainciusol

By Kevin Robinson in Arts & Entertainment on Apr 17, 2012 8:00PM

In 1972, Italian artist Adriano Celentano recorded the song "Prisencolinensinainciusol," to moderate popular success, including a television broadcast and inclusion on both an album and a compilation album Celentano has said that the song is about the incommunicability of modern times, and argued that the only word we need is prisencolinensinainciusol, which he claims means "universal love."

Deliberately written to sound like English, but in fact, purely gibberish, this song has enjoyed a return to popularity in the 21st century as an internet novelty, but also stands as a testament to both how popular the English language has been globally, especially in the post-World War II west, and how well an English sounding pop song can be received, even in the United States. And it doesn't hurt that it's a catchy tune, either.